Improvement in the consteuotion of dykes and levees



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IMPROVEMBNT'IN 'rss CONSTRUCTION or Dimes AND Levers.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: y

' Be it known that I, LOUIS-S. ROBBINS,0` the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved plan for constructing Levees or Dykes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.` i

It is well known that levees or dykes yon our western rivers are generally constructed by embankments of earth, the embankments being raised above high water; but from the nature of the soil these embankments are in fact but little more than rows or piles of sand, which are liable to be `washed away by the rain and i'loods, allowing the water to overflow, devastating large sections of country, and destroying vast amounts of property. To prevent the breaking away of the levee, and the overflow of the water, and the disastrous consequences attendant thereon,V is the object of myinvention. I I i And to enable others skilled in the art to use my invention, I will proceed to describe it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. Y

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the levee, with my improvement.

Figure 2 is an end view, showing a transverse section of the levee complete.

Figure 3 represents another cross-section, with my improvement ready to be applied.

Figures 4 and 5 'are clamps used in applying my improvement.

Figure represents a sido View of a section of my improvement; and

Figure 7 represents an end view of the same; and

Figure 8 is a top view of the same, showing ajoint.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts. i

I-Iitherto it has been found that wood could not becmployed to advantage in the construction of levees, in consequence of its rapid decay, and destruction by insects and worms, while the employment of iron for that purpose would be too expensive to be seriously thought of. To carry out my invention I employ lumber which has been treated according to my wood-preserving processfor which Letters Patent of the United States, dated April 5, 1865, were granted to me. Lumber thus 4treated is rendered durable and safe against the depredations of worms and insects. With this lumber, or with any suitable lumber, in the form of planks or timber, I construct the levee, by putt-ing down the plankslor timber in sections of two or more pieces, either bydriving into the earth, or by placing the scctionin position and then lbanking up the earth as may be necessary to hold the section inposition. My invention applies particularly to the manner iny which the planks are 'driven into the earth, especial provision being made to keep them in place and to guide them while being driven by guides or clamps attached to the portion of the levee already completed. In eitherway the sections can be rapidly placed in the earth and held in the required position, so as to fully secure the object I have inview.

In the drawing, A is the earth embankment. B is a section formed-of planks and' driven intothe embankment, at this place this levee is complete with my improvement, and to which the other sections are made to i conform. C is a section, the same as-theother, whichvis ready'to be driven down. Upon the top of this section there is` a cap, D, with a groove in its under side', which groove encloses the top of' the section in length and thickness. This cap I) receives the blows which drive the section to its desired position, the cap at the same time keeping the section in line at the top aswell as from spreading. This cap is portable, so vthat when a section has been driven home it is det-ached and used for the next, and so on. To secure the lower portion of thc section fin place, the clamp E, iig. 5, is slipped on to it,`the'endl extending on to the section B, which is already in position,'as seen in iig. 1, represented in red lines.l The other clamp F is now used to secure E in lits place while the section C is boing driven. This clamp F stands in an upright position when in use, as seen ht lig. l, in red lines.- This clamp is slipped over the top of B and over the clamp E, when a screw, a, near the lower end of F, secures the ends of the clamp E to the section B, thus holding the lower portion of the section C in place while it is being driven into the earth. These two clamps may b combined in one; andas the principal feature of my invention consists in driving the planks or timbers in sections, and keeping them in position by clamping thorn to the part .already driven, I do not intend to conne myself` to this particular form ofnlni-np. After 'the sections are driven, or :is fast as they are placed in position, a rail, G, is rmly secured by vsections when placed :is represented in the drawings.

pins orbolts to the sections, :is seen in the drawing. i 'lhis mil may lai-p from one section to the next,` so as to connect them together atthe top; :rnd :t rail muy be placed on eneh side. y In some localities or situations it would be dilicult, if not impossible, to drive the sections into the earth in the manner we have described. In

such cases it would be necessary to dig atreneh endplztee the section in position, and then throw up the embankment against it. I have provided for this diiliculty by preparing a. section to be secnred in position in this way; g. 6 represents this section. Fig. 7 is :in end View; et the `bottom end 'on euch side :1re timbers, 7L h', firmly secured to the planks, end which keep the plnnks which form the section in pince. 'Ihese timbers me halved at thcirends, so that they lop by eneh other, forming joints by which two of the sections nre'scenred together hy bolts or pins, :is seen in fig. 8. The timbers i 71. form nstrong :Lnchor to the sections when the enrth is banked up on l@zich sid'e7 keeping them firmly in position. The top oi these sections is secured by the ruil G in the manner already described. This section is also designed to be employed in stoppin` crevasses and repairing the levee. In order to strengthen 'the levee and stili'en 4the sections after they are placed in position, I round one edge of each plank and hollow the other edge, so that-one plank will lfit into another, andso on successively. The edges of the sections are formed in @he sume manner, und united by the seme kind of joint. This not only strengthens the levee, hut ajoint mede in this manner is less likely to leek thans square joint.y There are situations where it is very diiieult to obtain dry and solid earth with which to make an embankment against my In sueh enses I support my sections by a hreee, es represented in Figure 9, sind in suoh'sit-uations I een use either kind of section which Ihnve described.

Having thus described my inyention, what I claim es new, and desire to secnrebyvLette-rs Patent, is-

1. I clnim'the employment ofthe removable cap D, substantially as and for the purposes herein shown and described. 4

2. I elzrim the employment of a. guiding clump, E, or its equivalent, in one or more parts, substantially :is shown and described. p

3. I claim the combination of one or more longitudinal timbers with the lower portions of the Upright planks or timbers, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown 'and described.

LoUIs s. RoBnINs.

Witnesses:

WM. F. McNAMARA, ALEX. F. Renners. 

